Cincinnati Wound Job

Reds break out of funk in 3-1 win over Pirates

Turns out, it only took one Pittsburgh Pirates error.

Two, actually.

The Reds took advantage of a pair of miscues from Pittsburgh shortstop Chase d'Arnaud to beat the Pirates 3-1 on Wednesday and avoid a three-game sweep.

Johnny Cueto (6-3) gave up one run over six innings to whittle his ERA to 1.98 as Cincinnati found a little punch following two nights of futility against the surprising NL Central-leading Pirates.

Though Baker has stressed it's not time to panic, Cueto knows the Reds are at a critical point in their season. The defending division champions haven't won consecutive games in over a month and have dropped off the pace in the crowded Central race.

"What I was thinking is, 'We need to win today, and I give a good game, a quality start,'" Cueto said. "I need to make good pitches, and the team will help me with runs and we can get a win."

The Reds didn't exactly bust out against Pittsburgh starter Jeff Karstens (8-5), but they didn't let a little charity go to waste.

An error by d'Arnaud on a routine play to start the game helped Cincinnati plate its first run since Sunday, and a bobble in the fifth extended the inning and allowed the Reds to put together the final margin.

"They were two plays we need to put away," said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle. "That basically was pretty much the difference."

Chris Heisey and Jay Bruce had two hits apiece for the Reds, who beat Pittsburgh for just the second time in nine tries this year.

D'Arnaud made a pair of huge plays in a 2-0 win Monday. His diving stop in the hole got Pittsburgh out of a bases-loaded situation in the first inning and his first-to-third sprint in the fourth opened the door for a pair of Pittsburgh runs.

The 24-year-old, who was injured sliding into third Monday, sat out Tuesday's 1-0 victory as a precaution. He didn't exactly look comfortable upon his return. Heisey led off the game with a routine grounder that d'Arnaud threw into the stands. Heisey would later score on a sacrifice fly from Joey Votto to end Cincinnati's longest scoreless streak in over a year.

"We were going to try to score a run any way we could early, especially knowing the fact that they don't give up a lot of runs — especially here in their ballpark," Baker said.

Cincinnati Reds grind out win over first-place Pittsburgh Pirates ...

Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker kept telling his team it would only take one hit to break out of a woeful slump.

Turns out, it only took one Pittsburgh Pirates error.

Two, actually.

The Reds took advantage of a pair of miscues from Pittsburgh shortstop Chase d'Arnaud to beat the Pirates 3-1 on Wednesday and avoid a three-game sweep.

Johnny Cueto (6-3) gave up one run over six innings to whittle his ERA to 1.98 as Cincinnati found a little punch following two nights of futility against the surprising NL Central-leading Pirates.

Though Baker has stressed it's not time to panic, Cueto knows the Reds are at a critical point in their season. The defending division champions haven't won consecutive games in over a month and have dropped off the pace in the crowded Central race.

"What I was thinking is, 'We need to win today, and I give a good game, a quality start,'" Cueto said. "I need to make good pitches, and the team will help me with runs and we can get a win."

The Reds didn't exactly bust out against Pittsburgh starter Jeff Karstens (8-5), but they didn't let a little charity go to waste.

An error by d'Arnaud on a routine play to start the game helped Cincinnati plate its first run since Sunday, and a bobble in the fifth extended the inning and allowed the Reds to put together the final margin.

"They were two plays we need to put away," said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle. "That basically was pretty much the difference."

Chris Heisey and Jay Bruce had two hits apiece for the Reds, who beat Pittsburgh for just the second time in nine tries this year.

D'Arnaud made a pair of huge plays in a 2-0 win Monday. His diving stop in the hole got Pittsburgh out of a bases-loaded situation in the first inning and his first-to-third sprint in the fourth opened the door for a pair of Pittsburgh runs.

The 24-year-old, who was injured sliding into third Monday, sat out Tuesday's 1-0 victory as a precaution. He didn't exactly look comfortable upon his return. Heisey led off the game with a routine grounder that d'Arnaud threw into the stands. Heisey would later score on a sacrifice fly from Joey Votto to end Cincinnati's longest scoreless streak in over a year.

"We were going to try to score a run any way we could early, especially knowing the fact that they don't give up a lot of runs — especially here in their ballpark," Baker said.

Miguel Cairo's sacrifice fly in the second put Cincinnati up 2-0 and, after Andrew McCutchen's double cut the lead to one, another d'Arnaud mistake gave the Reds some breathing room in the fifth. He had trouble coming up with a two-out grounder by Cueto, extending the inning. Heisey followed with a single and the pitcher came home on a single by Edgar Renteria.

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